AWP 2026 Reflections

And in Baaalt-imore, we had"BIG FUN"

Loneliness is the fiercest and the most relentless when I’m in a room surrounded by people. I don’t think most people understand this about me. I am from Atlanta, a city which is itself, a kind of temple of loneliness. So this is a topic I speak to with some authority. Perhaps, that is at the core of what we call imposter syndrome.But I must say at this past AWP, I felt an extraordinary sense of community.

AWP 2026 was held in Baltimore. My relationship to cities is forged through memories. As a young man, I was perhaps dreamy and optimistic. In middle age, I’m more nostalgic. And Baltimore is a place of nostalgia. In the 2000s I spent time there with two people very special to men. So in that sense, the city is special to me. And of course the John Waters films that I love.

At AWP this year, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel with some of the most brilliant creative minds of our moment: Joy Priest, John Vercher, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, and Deesha Philyaw. All icons. The panel “Crying Laughing: Black Authors on Writing Satire, Surrealism & the Absurd.” was incredible. There had to be 200 or more people in the room. The energy was good. The conversation was lively. And there was such a sense of love and support in the space.

Special shout out to my Randolph College MFA classmates Kirsten, Suzette, and Erin who I got to hang out with. And special shout out to Devin for buying me tacos. I also got to spend time with my literary brothers C. G. Crawford and Al-Lateef Farmer who I’m so grateful to know from our writing group. They inspire me endlessly. And spending time with Leydi Margaret Ferreira at AWP is always a delight, who I met through VONA.

Another highlight is my organization CNP, co-organized the panel “Forty Years of In The Life,” commemorating the legacy of writer Joseph Beam and his landmark anthology with Doug Jones, John Keene, Steven Fullwood, and my colleague Johnnie Kornegay moderating. I even got to have pizza with them on the last day, along with Jamal.

There was so much community and affirmation in the space. So much of my writing life has been not just about big milestones, but the continued observation of community rituals.